Kamikaze aircraft were essentiawwy piwot-guided expwosive missiwes, purpose-buiwt or converted from conventionaw aircraft. Piwots wouwd attempt to crash deir aircraft into enemy ships in what was cawwed a "body attack" in pwanes waden wif some combination of expwosives, bombs, and torpedoes. Accuracy was much higher dan dat of conventionaw attacks, and de paywoad and expwosion warger; about 19% of kamikaze attacks were successfuw.[2] A kamikaze couwd sustain damage dat wouwd disabwe a conventionaw attacker and stiww achieve its objective. The goaw of crippwing or destroying warge numbers of Awwied ships, particuwarwy aircraft carriers, was considered by de Empire of Japan to be a just reason for sacrificing piwots and aircraft.

These attacks, which began in October 1944, fowwowed severaw criticaw miwitary defeats for de Japanese. They had wong since wost aeriaw dominance as a resuwt of having outdated aircraft and enduring de woss of experienced piwots. Japan suffered from a diminishing capacity for war and a rapidwy decwining industriaw capacity rewative to dat of de Awwies. Japan was awso wosing piwots faster dan it couwd train deir repwacements. These combined factors, awong wif Japan's unwiwwingness to surrender, wed to de use of kamikaze tactics as Awwied forces advanced towards de Japanese home iswands.

The tradition of deaf instead of defeat, capture and shame was deepwy entrenched in Japanese miwitary cuwture. One of de primary traditions in de samurai wife and de Bushido code: woyawty and honor untiw deaf.[3][4][5][6][7]

A Japanese monopwane dat made a record-breaking fwight from Tokyo to London in 1937 for de Asahi newspaper group was named Kamikaze. She was a prototype for de Mitsubishi Ki-15 ("Babs").[11]

In Japanese, de formaw term used for units carrying out suicide attacks during 1944–1945 is tokushu kōgekitai (特別攻撃隊), which witerawwy means "speciaw attack unit". This is usuawwy abbreviated to tokkōtai (特攻隊). More specificawwy, air suicide attack units from de Imperiaw Japanese Navy were officiawwy cawwed shinpū tokubetsu kōgeki tai (神風特別攻撃隊, "divine wind speciaw attack units"). Shinpū is de on-reading (on'yomi or Chinese-derived pronunciation) of de same characters dat form de word kamikaze in Japanese. During Worwd War II, de pronunciation kamikaze was used onwy informawwy in de Japanese press in rewation to suicide attacks, but after de war dis usage gained acceptance worwdwide and was re-imported into Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. As a resuwt, de speciaw attack units are sometimes known in Japan as kamikaze tokubetsu kōgeki tai.[citation needed]

Before de formation of kamikaze units, piwots had made dewiberate crashes as a wast resort when deir pwanes had suffered severe damage and dey did not want to risk being captured, or wanted to do as much damage to de enemy as possibwe, since dey were crashing anyway. Such situations occurred in bof de Axis and Awwied air forces. Axeww and Kase see dese suicides as "individuaw, impromptu decisions by men who were mentawwy prepared to die".[12] In most cases, wittwe evidence exists dat such hits represented more dan accidentaw cowwisions of de kind dat sometimes happen in intense sea or air battwes. One exampwe of dis occurred on 7 December 1941 during de attack on Pearw Harbor. First Lieutenant Fusata Iida's pwane had taken a hit and had started weaking fuew when he apparentwy used it to make a suicide attack on Navaw Air Station Kaneohe. Before taking off, he had towd his men dat if his pwane were to become badwy damaged he wouwd crash it into a "wordy enemy target".[13]

The carrier battwes in 1942, particuwarwy Midway, infwicted irreparabwe damage on de Imperiaw Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS), such dat dey couwd no wonger put togeder a warge number of fweet carriers wif weww-trained aircrews.[14] Japanese pwanners had assumed a qwick war and wacked comprehensive programmes to repwace de wosses of ships, piwots and saiwors; at Midway in June 1942, de Japanese wost as many air crew in a singwe day as deir pre-war training program had wost in a year.[15]
The fowwowing Sowomon Iswands campaign (1942–1945) and de New Guinea campaign (1942–1945), notabwy de Battwes of Eastern Sowomons (August 1942) and Santa Cruz (October 1942), furder decimated de IJNAS veteran aircrews, and repwacing deir combat experience proved impossibwe.[16]

Modew 52c Zeros ready to take part in a kamikaze attack (earwy 1945)

During 1943–1944, U.S. forces steadiwy advanced toward Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. Newer U.S.-made pwanes, especiawwy de Grumman F6F Hewwcat and Vought F4U Corsair, outcwassed and soon outnumbered Japan's fighter pwanes. Tropicaw diseases, as weww as shortages of spare parts and fuew, made operations more and more difficuwt for de IJNAS. By de Battwe of de Phiwippine Sea (June 1944), de Japanese had to make do wif obsowete aircraft and inexperienced aviators in de fight against better-trained and more experienced US Navy airmen who fwew radar-directed combat air patrows. The Japanese wost over 400 carrier-based pwanes and piwots in de Battwe of de Phiwippine Sea, effectivewy putting an end to deir carriers' potency. Awwied aviators cawwed de action de "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".

On 19 June 1944, pwanes from de carrier Chiyoda approached a US task group. According to some accounts, two made suicide attacks, one of which hit USS Indiana.[17]

The important Japanese base of Saipan feww to de Awwied forces on 15 Juwy 1944. Its capture provided adeqwate forward bases dat enabwed U.S. air forces using de Boeing B-29 Superfortress to strike at de Japanese home iswands. After de faww of Saipan, de Japanese High Command predicted dat de Awwies wouwd try to capture de Phiwippines, strategicawwy important to Tokyo because of de iswands' wocation between de oiwfiewds of Soudeast Asia and Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah.

A Japanese kamikaze aircraft expwodes after crashing into Essex's fwight deck amidships 25 November 1944.

Captain Motoharu Okamura, in charge of de Tateyama Base in Tokyo, as weww as de 341st Air Group Home, was, according to some sources, de first officer to officiawwy propose kamikaze attack tactics. Wif his superiors, he arranged de first investigations into de pwausibiwity and mechanisms of intentionaw suicide attacks on 15 June 1944.[18]

In August 1944, it was announced by de Domei news agency dat a fwight instructor named Takeo Tagata was training piwots in Taiwan for suicide missions.[19]

One source cwaims dat de first kamikaze mission occurred on 13 September 1944. A group of piwots from de army's 31st Fighter Sqwadron on Negros Iswand decided to waunch a suicide attack de fowwowing morning.[20]First Lieutenant Takeshi Kosai and a sergeant were sewected. Two 100 kg (220 wb) bombs were attached to two fighters, and de piwots took off before dawn, pwanning to crash into carriers. They never returned, but dere is no record of an enemy pwane hitting an Awwied ship dat day.[citation needed]

According to some sources, on 14 October 1944, USS Reno was hit by a dewiberatewy crashed Japanese pwane.[21]

Masafumi Arima

Rear AdmirawMasafumi Arima, de commander of de 26f Air Fwotiwwa (part of de 11f Air Fweet), is sometimes credited wif inventing de kamikaze tactic. Arima personawwy wed an attack by about 100 Yokosuka D4YSuisei ("Judy") dive bombers against a warge Essex-cwass aircraft carrier, USS Frankwin, near Leyte Guwf, on or about 15 October 1944. Arima was kiwwed and part of a pwane hit Frankwin. The Japanese high command and propagandists seized on Arima's exampwe. He was promoted posdumouswy to Vice Admiraw and was given officiaw credit for making de first kamikaze attack. It is not cwear dat dis was a pwanned suicide attack, and officiaw Japanese accounts of Arima's attack bore wittwe resembwance to de actuaw events.

On 17 October 1944, Awwied forces assauwted Suwuan Iswand, beginning de Battwe of Leyte Guwf. The Imperiaw Japanese Navy's 1st Air Fweet, based at Maniwa, was assigned de task of assisting de Japanese ships dat wouwd attempt to destroy Awwied forces in Leyte Guwf. That unit had onwy 40 aircraft: 34 Mitsubishi A6M Zero carrier-based fighters, dree Nakajima B6NTenzan ("Jiww") torpedo bombers, one Mitsubishi G4M ("Betty") and two Yokosuka P1YGinga ("Frances") wand-based bombers, and one additionaw reconnaissance aircraft. The task facing de Japanese air forces seemed impossibwe. The 1st Air Fweet commandant, Vice AdmirawTakijirō Ōnishi, decided to form a suicide offensive force, de Speciaw Attack Unit. In a meeting on 19 October at Mabawacat Airfiewd (known to de U.S. miwitary as Cwark Air Base) near Maniwa, Onishi towd officers of de 201st Fwying Group headqwarters: "I don't dink dere wouwd be any oder certain way to carry out de operation [to howd de Phiwippines] dan to put a 250 kg bomb on a Zero and wet it crash into a U.S. carrier, in order to disabwe her for a week."

26 May 1945. Corporaw Yukio Araki, howding a puppy, wif four oder piwots of de 72nd Shinbu Sqwadron at Bansei, Kagoshima. Araki died de fowwowing day, at de age of 17, in a suicide attack on ships near Okinawa.

CommanderAsaichi Tamai asked a group of 23 tawented student piwots, aww of whom he had trained, to vowunteer for de speciaw attack force. Aww of de piwots raised bof of deir hands, vowunteering to join de operation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Later, Tamai asked Lieutenant Yukio Seki to command de speciaw attack force. Seki is said to have cwosed his eyes, wowered his head and dought for ten seconds before saying: "Pwease do appoint me to de post." Seki became de 24f kamikaze piwot to be chosen, uh-hah-hah-hah. He water said: "Japan's future is bweak if it is forced to kiww one of its best piwots" and "I am not going on dis mission for de Emperor or for de Empire ... I am going because I was ordered to."[22]

The names of de four sub-units widin de Kamikaze Speciaw Attack Force were Unit Shikishima, Unit Yamato, Unit Asahi and Unit Yamazakura.[23] These names were taken from a patriotic deaf poem, Shikishima no Yamato-gokoro wo hito towaba, asahi ni niou yamazakura bana by de Japanese cwassicaw schowar, Motoori Norinaga.[24] The poem reads:

If someone asks about de Yamato spirit [Spirit of Owd/True Japan] of Shikishima [a poetic name for Japan]—it is de fwowers of yamazakura [mountain cherry bwossom] dat are fragrant in de Asahi [rising sun].

Starboard horizontaw stabiwizer from de taiw of a "Judy" on de deck of USS Kitkun Bay. The "Judy" made a run on de ship approaching from dead astern; it was met by effective fire and de pwane passed over de iswand and expwoded. Parts of de pwane and de piwot were scattered over de fwight deck and de forecastwe.

Severaw suicide attacks, carried out during de invasion of Leyte by Japanese piwots from units oder dan de Speciaw Attack Force, have been described as de first kamikaze attacks. Earwy on 21 October, a Japanese aircraft, possibwy a Navy Aichi D3A dive-bomber[27] or an Army Mitsubishi Ki-51 (of de 6f Fwying Brigade, Imperiaw Japanese Army Air Force[28]), dewiberatewy crashed into de foremast of de heavy cruiser HMAS Austrawia.[27] The attack kiwwed 30 personnew, incwuding de cruiser's captain, Emiwe Dechaineux, and wounded 64, incwuding de Austrawian force commander, Commodore John Cowwins.[27] The Austrawian officiaw history of de war cwaimed dat dis was de first kamikaze attack on an Awwied ship, awdough oder sources disagree because it was not a pwanned attack by a member of de Speciaw Attack Force, but was most wikewy to have been undertaken on de piwot's own initiative.[27]

The sinking of de ocean tug USS Sonoma on 24 October is wisted in some sources as de first ship wost to a kamikaze strike, but de attack occurred before 25 October, and de aircraft used, a Mitsubishi G4M, was not fwown by de originaw four Speciaw Attack Sqwadrons.

On 25 October 1944, during de Battwe of Leyte Guwf, de Kamikaze Speciaw Attack Force carried out its first mission, uh-hah-hah-hah. Five A6M Zeros, wed by Seki, were escorted to de target by weading Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, and attacked severaw escort carriers. One Zero attempted to hit de bridge of USS Kitkun Bay but instead expwoded on de port catwawk and cartwheewed into de sea. Two oders dove at USS Fanshaw Bay but were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire. The wast two ran at USS White Pwains. One, under heavy fire and traiwing smoke, aborted de attempt on White Pwains and instead banked toward USS St. Lo, pwowing into de fwight deck. Its bomb caused fires dat resuwted in de bomb magazine expwoding, sinking de carrier.[29] By day's end on 26 October, 55 kamikazes from de Speciaw Attack Force had awso damaged de warge escort carriers USS Sangamon, Suwannee (which had awso been struck
by a kamikaze forward of its aft ewevator on 25 October), Santee and de smawwer escorts USS White Pwains, Kawinin Bay and Kitkun Bay. In totaw, seven carriers were hit, as weww as 40 oder ships (five sunk, 23 heaviwy damaged and 12 moderatewy damaged).

The kamikaze hits Cowumbia at 17:29. The pwane and its bomb penetrated two decks before expwoding, kiwwing 13 and wounding 44.

Earwy successes – such as de sinking of St. Lo – were fowwowed by an immediate expansion of de program, and over de next few monds over 2,000 pwanes made such attacks.

When Japan began to suffer intense strategic bombing by Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, de Japanese miwitary attempted to use suicide attacks against dis dreat. During de nordern hemisphere winter of 1944–45, de IJAAF formed de 47f Air Regiment, awso known as de Shinten Speciaw Unit (Shinten Seiku Tai) at Narimasu Airfiewd, Nerima, Tokyo, to defend de Tokyo Metropowitan Area. The unit was eqwipped wif Nakajima Ki-44Shoki ("Tojo") fighters, whose piwots were instructed to cowwide wif United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) B-29s approaching Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. Targeting de aircraft proved to be much wess successfuw and practicaw dan attacks against warships, as de bombers made for much faster, more maneuverabwe and smawwer targets. The B-29 awso had formidabwe defensive weaponry, so suicide attacks against de pwane demanded considerabwe piwoting skiww to be successfuw, which worked against de very purpose of using expendabwe piwots. Even encouraging capabwe piwots to baiw out before impact was ineffective because vitaw personnew were often wost when dey mistimed deir exits and were kiwwed as a resuwt.

On 11 March, de U.S. carrier USS Randowph was hit and moderatewy damaged at Uwidi Atoww, in de Carowine Iswands, by a kamikaze dat had fwown awmost 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from Japan, in a mission cawwed Operation Tan No. 2. On 20 March, de submarine USS Deviwfish survived a hit from an aircraft just off Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Purpose-buiwt kamikaze pwanes, as opposed to converted fighters and dive-bombers, were awso being constructed. Ensign Mitsuo Ohta had suggested dat piwoted gwider bombs, carried widin range of targets by a moder pwane, shouwd be devewoped. The First Navaw Air Technicaw Bureau (Kugisho) in Yokosuka refined Ohta's idea. Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohkarocket pwanes, waunched from bombers, were first depwoyed in kamikaze attacks from March 1945. U.S. personnew gave dem de derisive nickname "Baka Bombs" (baka is Japanese for "idiot" or "stupid"). The Nakajima Ki-115Tsurugi was a simpwe, easiwy buiwt propewwer aircraft wif a wooden airframe dat used engines from existing stocks. Its non-retractabwe wanding gear was jettisoned shortwy after takeoff for a suicide mission, recovered and reused. During 1945, de Japanese miwitary began stockpiwing hundreds of Tsurugi, Ohkas, oder aircraft and suicide boats for use against Awwied forces expected to invade Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah. The invasion never happened, and few were ever used.[30]

An A6M Zero (A6M2 Modew 21) towards de end of its run at de escort carrierUSS White Pwains on 25 October 1944. The aircraft expwoded in mid-air moments after de picture was taken, scattering debris across de deck.

In earwy 1945, U.S. Navy aviator Commander John Thach, awready famous for devewoping effective aeriaw tactics against de Japanese such as de Thach Weave, devewoped a defensive strategy against kamikazes cawwed de "big bwue bwanket" to estabwish Awwied air supremacy weww away from de carrier force. This recommended combat air patrows (CAP) dat were warger and operated furder from de carriers dan before, a wine of picket destroyers and destroyer escorts at weast 80 km (50 mi) from de main body of de fweet to provide earwier radar interception and improved coordination between fighter direction officers on carriers. This pwan awso cawwed for around-de-cwock fighter patrows over Awwied fweets, dough de U.S. Navy had cut back training of fighter piwots so dere were not enough Navy piwots avaiwabwe to counter de kamikaze dreat. A finaw ewement incwuded intensive fighter sweeps over Japanese airfiewds, and bombing of Japanese runways, using dewayed-action bombs to make repairs more difficuwt.[31]

Late in 1944, de British Pacific Fweet (BPF) used de good high-awtitude performance of its Supermarine Seafires (de navaw version of de Spitfire) on combat air patrow duties. Seafires were heaviwy invowved in countering de kamikaze attacks during de Iwo Jima wandings and beyond. The Seafires' best day was 15 August 1945, shooting down eight attacking aircraft wif a singwe woss.

A A6M5 "Zero" diving towards American ships in de Phiwippines in earwy 1945

Awwied gunners had begun to devewop techniqwes to negate kamikaze attacks. Light rapid fire anti-aircraft weapons such as de 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerwikon autocannons were highwy effective,[32] but heavy anti-aircraft guns such as de 5"/38 cawiber gun (127 mm) had de punch to bwow kamikazes out of de air, which was preferabwe since even a heaviwy damaged kamikaze couwd compwete its mission, uh-hah-hah-hah.[33] The speedy Ohkas presented a very difficuwt probwem for anti-aircraft fire, since deir vewocity made fire controw extremewy difficuwt. By 1945, warge numbers of anti-aircraft shewws wif radio freqwency proximity fuzes, on average seven times more effective dan reguwar shewws, became avaiwabwe, and de U.S. Navy recommended deir use against kamikaze attacks.

The peak period of kamikaze attack freqwency came during Apriw–June 1945 at de Battwe of Okinawa. On 6 Apriw 1945, waves of aircraft made hundreds of attacks in Operation Kikusui ("fwoating chrysandemums").[34] At Okinawa, kamikaze attacks focused at first on Awwied destroyers on picket duty, and den on de carriers in de middwe of de fweet. Suicide attacks by pwanes or boats at Okinawa sank or put out of action at weast 30 U.S. warships[35] and at weast dree U.S. merchant ships,[36] awong wif some from oder Awwied forces. The attacks expended 1,465 pwanes. Many warships of aww cwasses were damaged, some severewy, but no aircraft carriers, battweships or cruisers were sunk by kamikaze at Okinawa. Most of de ships wost were destroyers or smawwer vessews, especiawwy dose on picket duty.[35] The destroyer USS Laffey earned de nickname "The Ship That Wouwd Not Die" after surviving six kamikaze attacks and four bomb hits during dis battwe.[37] So many destroyers were attacked dat one ship's crew, considering de aircraft carriers to be more important targets, erected a warge sign wif an arrow dat read "That way to de carriers".[citation needed]

U.S. carriers, wif deir wooden fwight decks, appeared to suffer more damage from kamikaze hits dan de armored-decked carriers from de British Pacific Fweet. U.S. carriers awso suffered considerabwy heavier casuawties from kamikaze strikes; for instance, 389 men were kiwwed in one attack on USS Bunker Hiww, greater dan de combined number of fatawities suffered on aww six Royaw Navy armoured carriers from aww forms of attack during de entire war. Bunker Hiww and Frankwin were bof hit whiwe conducting operations wif fuwwy fuewed and armed aircraft spotted on deck for takeoff, an extremewy vuwnerabwe state for any carrier. Eight kamikaze hits on five British carriers resuwted in onwy 20 deads whiwe a combined totaw of 15 bomb hits, most of 500 kg weight or greater, and one torpedo hit on four carriers caused 193 fataw casuawties earwier in de war – striking proof of de protective vawue of de armoured fwight deck.[38][39]

Aircraft carrier HMS Formidabwe after being struck by a kamikaze off de Sakishima Iswands. The kamikaze made a dent 3 m wong, 0.6 m wide and deep in de armored fwight deck. Eight crew members were kiwwed, 47 were wounded, and 11 aircraft were destroyed.

The resiwience of weww-armoured vessews was shown on 4 May, just after 11:30, when dere was a wave of suicide attacks against de British Pacific Fweet. One Japanese pwane made a steep dive from "a great height" at de carrier HMS Formidabwe and was engaged by anti-aircraft guns.[40] Awdough de kamikaze was hit by gunfire, it managed to drop a bomb dat detonated on de fwight deck, making a crater 3 m (9.8 ft) wong, 0.6 m (2 ft) wide and 0.6 m (2 ft) deep. A wong steew spwinter speared down drough de hangar deck and de main boiwer room (where it ruptured a steam wine) before coming to rest in a fuew tank near de aircraft park, where it started a major fire. Eight personnew were kiwwed and 47 were wounded. One Corsair and 10 Grumman Avengers were destroyed. The fires were graduawwy brought under controw, and de crater in de deck was repaired wif concrete and steew pwate. By 17:00, Corsairs were abwe to wand. On 9 May, Formidabwe was again damaged by a kamikaze, as were de carrier HMS Victorious and de battweship HMS Howe. The British were abwe to cwear de fwight deck and resume fwight operations in just hours, whiwe deir American counterparts took a few days or even monds, as observed by a U.S. Navy wiaison officer on HMS Indefatigabwe who commented: "When a kamikaze hits a U.S. carrier it means six monds of repair at Pearw Harbor. When a kamikaze hits a Limey carrier it’s just a case of 'Sweepers, man your brooms'."

Twin-engine aircraft were occasionawwy used in pwanned kamikaze attacks. For exampwe, Mitsubishi Ki-67Hiryū ("Peggy") medium bombers, based on Formosa, undertook kamikaze attacks on Awwied forces off Okinawa, and a pair of Kawasaki Ki-45Toryu ("Nick") heavy fighters caused enough damage for USS Dickerson (DD-157) to be scuttwed.

Vice Admiraw Matome Ugaki, de commander of de IJN 5f Air Fweet based in Kyushu, participated in one of de finaw kamikaze attacks on American ships on 15 August 1945, hours after Japan's announced surrender.[41]

Ugaki, shortwy before taking off from a D4Y3 to participate in one of de finaw kamikaze strikes, 15 August 1945

As de end of de war approached, de Awwies did not suffer more serious significant wosses, despite having far more ships and facing a greater intensity of kamikaze attacks. Awdough causing some of de heaviest casuawties on U.S. carriers in 1945, de IJN had sacrificed 2,525 kamikaze piwots and de IJAAF 1,387—far more dan it had wost in 1942 when it sank or crippwed dree carriers (awbeit widout infwicting significant casuawties). In 1942, when U.S. Navy vessews were scarce, de temporary absence of key warships from de combat zone wouwd tie up operationaw initiatives. By 1945, however, de U.S. Navy was warge enough dat damaged ships couwd be detached back home for repair widout significantwy hampering de fweet's operationaw capabiwity. The onwy surface wosses were destroyers and smawwer ships dat wacked de capabiwity to sustain heavy damage. Overaww, de kamikazes were unabwe to turn de tide of de war and stop de Awwied invasion, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In de immediate aftermaf of kamikaze strikes, British carriers wif deir armoured fwight decks recovered more qwickwy compared to deir US counterparts. Post-war anawysis showed dat some British carriers such as HMS Formidabwe suffered structuraw damage dat wed to dem being scrapped, as being beyond economic repair. Britain's post-war economic situation pwayed a rowe in de decision to not repair damaged carriers, whiwe even seriouswy damaged American carriers such as USS Bunker Hiww were repaired, awdough dey were den modbawwed or sowd off as surpwus after Worwd War II widout re-entering service.

A crewman in an AA gun aboard de battweship New Jersey watches a kamikaze pwane descend upon Intrepid 25 November 1944. Over 75 men were kiwwed or missing and 100 wounded.

The exact number of ships sunk is a matter of debate. According to a wartime Japanese propaganda announcement, de missions sank 81 ships and damaged 195, and according to a Japanese tawwy, kamikaze attacks accounted for up to 80% of de U.S. wosses in de finaw phase of de war in de Pacific. In a 2004 book, Worwd War II, de historians Wiwmott, Cross and Messenger stated dat more dan 70 U.S. vessews were "sunk or damaged beyond repair" by kamikazes.

Austrawian journawists Denis and Peggy Warner, in a 1982 book wif Japanese navaw historian Sadao Seno (The Sacred Warriors: Japan’s Suicide Legions), arrived at a totaw of 57 ships sunk by kamikazes. Biww Gordon, an American Japanowogist who speciawises in kamikazes, wists in a 2007 articwe 47 ships known to have been sunk by kamikaze aircraft. Gordon says dat de Warners and Seno incwuded ten ships dat did not sink. He wists:

Japanese Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka ("cherry bwossom"), a speciawwy buiwt rocket-powered kamikaze aircraft used towards de end of de war. The U.S. cawwed dem Baka Bombs ("idiot bombs").

It was cwaimed by de Japanese forces at de time dat dere were many vowunteers for de suicidaw forces. Captain Motoharu Okamura commented dat "dere were so many vowunteers for suicide missions dat he referred to dem as a swarm of bees", expwaining: "Bees die after dey have stung."[43] Okamura is credited wif being de first to propose de kamikaze attacks. He had expressed his desire to wead a vowunteer group of suicide attacks some four monds before Admiraw Takijiro Ohnishi, commander of de Japanese navaw air forces in de Phiwippines, presented de idea to his staff. Whiwe Vice Admiraw Shigeru Fukudome, commander of de second air fweet, was inspecting de 341st Air Group, Captain Okamura took de chance to express his ideas on crash-dive tactics. "In our present situation I firmwy bewieve dat de onwy way to swing de war in our favor is to resort to crash-dive attacks wif our pwanes. There is no oder way. There wiww be more dan enough vowunteers for dis chance to save our country, and I wouwd wike to command such an operation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Provide me wif 300 pwanes and I wiww turn de tide of war."[44]

When de vowunteers arrived for duty in de corps, dere were twice as many persons as aircraft avaiwabwe. "After de war, some commanders wouwd express regret for awwowing superfwuous crews to accompany sorties, sometimes sqweezing demsewves aboard bombers and fighters so as to encourage de suicide piwots and, it seems, join in de exuwtation of sinking a warge enemy vessew." Many of de kamikaze piwots bewieved deir deaf wouwd pay de debt dey owed and show de wove dey had for deir famiwies, friends and emperor. "So eager were many minimawwy trained piwots to take part in suicide missions dat when deir sorties were dewayed or aborted, de piwots became deepwy despondent. Many of dose who were sewected for a bodycrashing mission were described as being extraordinariwy bwissfuw immediatewy before deir finaw sortie."[45]

As time wore on, modern critics qwestioned de nationawist portrayaw of kamikaze piwots as nobwe sowdiers wiwwing to sacrifice deir wives for de country. In 2006, Tsuneo Watanabe, editor-in-chief of de Yomiuri Shimbun, criticized Japanese nationawists' gworification of kamikaze attacks:[46][47][48]

It's aww a wie dat dey weft fiwwed wif braveness and joy, crying, "Long wive de emperor!" They were sheep at a swaughterhouse. Everybody was wooking down and tottering. Some were unabwe to stand up and were carried and pushed into de pwane by maintenance sowdiers.

When you ewiminate aww doughts about wife and deaf, you wiww be abwe to totawwy disregard your eardwy wife. This wiww awso enabwe you to concentrate your attention on eradicating de enemy wif unwavering determination, meanwhiwe reinforcing your excewwence in fwight skiwws.

— Excerpt from a kamikaze piwots' manuaw

Tokkōtai piwot training, as described by Takeo Kasuga,[49] generawwy "consisted of incredibwy strenuous training, coupwed wif cruew and torturous corporaw punishment as a daiwy routine". Daikichi Irokawa, who trained at Tsuchiura Navaw Air Base, recawwed dat he "was struck on de face so hard and freqwentwy dat [his] face was no wonger recognizabwe". He awso wrote: "I was hit so hard dat I couwd no wonger see and feww on de fwoor. The minute I got up, I was hit again by a cwub so dat I wouwd confess." This brutaw "training" was justified by de idea dat it wouwd instiww a "sowdier's fighting spirit", but daiwy beatings and corporaw punishment ewiminated patriotism among many piwots.[50]

We tried to wive wif 120 percent intensity, rader dan waiting for deaf. We read and read, trying to understand why we had to die in our earwy twenties. We fewt de cwock ticking away towards our deaf, every sound of de cwock shortening our wives.

Piwots were given a manuaw dat detaiwed how dey were supposed to dink, prepare and attack. From dis manuaw, piwots were towd to "attain a high wevew of spirituaw training", and to "keep [deir] heawf in de very best condition". These instructions, among oders, were meant to make piwots mentawwy ready to die.

The tokkōtai piwot's manuaw awso expwained how a piwot may turn back if de piwot couwd not wocate a target and dat "[a piwot] shouwd not waste [his] wife wightwy". One piwot who continuawwy came back to base was shot after his ninf return, uh-hah-hah-hah.[50]

The manuaw was very detaiwed in how a piwot shouwd attack. A piwot wouwd dive towards his target and "aim for a point between de bridge tower and de smoke stacks". Entering a smoke stack was awso said to be "effective". Piwots were towd not to aim at a ship's bridge tower or gun turret but instead to wook for ewevators or de fwight deck to hit. For horizontaw attacks, de piwot was to "aim at de middwe of de vessew, swightwy higher dan de waterwine" or to "aim at de entrance to de aircraft hangar, or de bottom of de stack" if de former was too difficuwt.

The tokkōtai piwot's manuaw towd piwots to never cwose deir eyes, as dis wouwd wower de chances of hitting deir targets. In de finaw moments before de crash, de piwot was to yeww "hissatsu" (必殺) at de top of his wungs, which transwates to "certain kiww".[citation needed]

In 1944–45, American propagandists invented de term "State Shinto" to differentiate de Japanese state's ideowogy from traditionaw Shinto practices. As time went on, Americans cwaimed, Shinto was used increasingwy in de promotion of nationawist sentiment. In 1890, de Imperiaw Rescript on Education was passed, under which students were reqwired to rituawwy recite its oaf to offer demsewves "courageouswy to de State" as weww as protect de Imperiaw famiwy. The uwtimate offering was to give up one’s wife. It was an honour to die for Japan and de Emperor. Axeww and Kase pointed out: "The fact is dat innumerabwe sowdiers, saiwors and piwots were determined to die, to become eirei, dat is 'guardian spirits' of de country. ... Many Japanese fewt dat to be enshrined at Yasukuni was a speciaw honour because de Emperor visited de shrine to pay homage twice a year. Yasukuni is de onwy shrine deifying common men which de Emperor wouwd visit to pay his respects."[43] Young Japanese peopwe were indoctrinated from an earwy age wif dese ideaws.

First recruits for Japanese Kamikaze suicide piwots in 1944

Fowwowing de commencement of de kamikaze tactic, newspapers and books ran advertisements, articwes and stories regarding de suicide bombers to aid in recruiting and support. In October 1944, de Nippon Times qwoted Lieutenant Sekio Nishina: "The spirit of de Speciaw Attack Corps is de great spirit dat runs in de bwood of every Japanese ... The crashing action which simuwtaneouswy kiwws de enemy and onesewf widout faiw is cawwed de Speciaw Attack ... Every Japanese is capabwe of becoming a member of de Speciaw Attack Corps."[51] Pubwishers awso pwayed up de idea dat de kamikaze were enshrined at Yasukuni and ran exaggerated stories of kamikaze bravery – dere were even fairy tawes for wittwe chiwdren dat promoted de kamikaze. A Foreign Office officiaw named Toshikazu Kase said: "It was customary for GHQ [in Tokyo] to make fawse announcements of victory in utter disregard of facts, and for de ewated and compwacent pubwic to bewieve dem."[52]

Whiwe many stories were fawsified, some were true, such as dat of Kiyu Ishikawa, who saved a Japanese ship when he crashed his pwane into a torpedo dat an American submarine had waunched. The sergeant major was posdumouswy promoted to second wieutenant by de emperor and was enshrined at Yasukuni.[53] Stories wike dese, which showed de kind of praise and honour deaf produced, encouraged young Japanese to vowunteer for de Speciaw Attack Corps and instiwwed a desire in de youf to die as a kamikaze.

Ceremonies were carried out before kamikaze piwots departed on deir finaw mission, uh-hah-hah-hah. The kamikaze shared ceremoniaw cups of sake or water known as "mizu no sakazuki". Many Army officer kamikaze took deir swords awong, whiwe de Navy piwots (as a generaw ruwe) did not. The kamikaze, awong wif aww Japanese aviators fwying over unfriendwy territory, were issued (or purchased, if dey were officers) a Nambu pistow wif which to end deir wives if dey risked being captured. Like aww Army and Navy servicemen, de kamikaze wouwd wear deir senninbari, a "bewt of a dousand stitches" given to dem by deir moders.[54] They awso composed and read a deaf poem, a tradition stemming from de samurai, who did so before committing seppuku. Piwots carried prayers from deir famiwies and were given miwitary decorations. The kamikaze were escorted by oder piwots whose function was to protect dem en route to deir destination and report on de resuwts. Some of dese escort piwots, such as Zero piwot Toshimitsu Imaizumi, were water sent out on deir own kamikaze missions.[54]

Whiwe it is commonwy perceived dat vowunteers signed up in droves for kamikaze missions, it has awso been contended dat dere was extensive coercion and peer pressure invowved in recruiting sowdiers for de sacrifice. Their motivations in "vowunteering" were compwex and not simpwy about patriotism or bringing honour to deir famiwies. Firsdand interviews wif surviving kamikaze and escort piwots has reveawed dat dey were motivated by a desire to protect deir famiwies from perceived atrocities and possibwe extinction at de hands of de Awwies. They viewed demsewves as de wast defense.[55]

At weast one of dese piwots was a conscripted Korean wif a Japanese name, adopted under de pre-war Soshi-kaimei ordinance dat compewwed Koreans to take Japanese personaw names.[56] Eweven of de 1,036 IJA kamikaze piwots who died in sorties from Chiran and oder Japanese air bases during de Battwe of Okinawa were Koreans.

It is said dat young piwots on kamikaze missions often fwew soudwest from Japan over de 922 m (3,025 ft) Mount Kaimon. The mountain is awso cawwed "Satsuma Fuji" (meaning a mountain wike Mount Fuji but wocated in de Satsuma Province region). Suicide-mission piwots wooked over deir shouwders to see de mountain, de soudernmost on de Japanese mainwand, said fareweww to deir country and sawuted de mountain, uh-hah-hah-hah. Residents on Kikaishima Iswand, east of Amami Ōshima, say dat piwots from suicide-mission units dropped fwowers from de air as dey departed on deir finaw missions.

Kamikaze piwots who were unabwe to compwete deir missions (because of mechanicaw faiwure, interception, etc.) were stigmatized in de years fowwowing de war. This stigma began to diminish some 50 years after de war as schowars and pubwishers began to distribute de survivors' stories.[57]

Some Japanese miwitary personnew were criticaw of de powicy. Some officers, such as Minoru Genda, Tadashi Minobe and Yoshio Shiga, refused to obey de powicy. They said dat de commander of a kamikaze attack shouwd engage in de task first.[58][59] Some persons who obeyed de powicy, such as Kiyokuma Okajima, Saburo Shindo and Iyozo Fujita, were awso criticaw of de powicy.[60][61]Saburō Sakai said: "We never dared to qwestion orders, to doubt audority, to do anyding but immediatewy carry out aww de commands of our superiors. We were automatons who obeyed widout dinking."[62]Tetsuzo Iwamoto refused to engage in a kamikaze attack because he dought de task of fighter piwots was to shoot down aircraft.[63]

I cannot predict de outcome of de air battwes, but you wiww be making a mistake if you shouwd regard Speciaw Attack operations as normaw medods. The right way is to attack de enemy wif skiww and return to de base wif good resuwts. A pwane shouwd be utiwized over and over again, uh-hah-hah-hah. That’s de way to fight a war. The current dinking is skewed. Oderwise, you cannot expect to improve air power. There wiww be no progress if fwyers continue to die.

Zwei Seewen wohnen auch in mein[em] Herz[en]!! (Ah, two souws [tamashi’i] reside in my heart [kokoro]!!) After aww I am just a human being. Sometimes, my chest pounds wif excitement when I dink of de day I wiww fwy into de sky. I trained my mind and body as hard as I couwd and am anxious for de day I can use dem to deir fuww capacity in fighting. I dink my wife and deaf bewong to de mission, uh-hah-hah-hah. Yet, at oder times, I envy dose science majors who remain at home [exempt from de draft]. … One of my souws wooks to heaven, whiwe de oder is attracted to de earf. I wish to enter de Navy as soon as possibwe so dat I can devote mysewf to de task. I hope dat de days when I am tormented by stupid doughts wiww pass qwickwy.

It is easy to tawk about deaf in de abstract, as de ancient phiwosophers discussed. But it is reaw deaf I fear, and I don’t know if I can overcome de fear. Even for a short wife, dere are many memories. For someone who had a good wife, it is very difficuwt to part wif it. But I reached a point of no return, uh-hah-hah-hah. I must pwunge into an enemy vessew.

To be honest, I cannot say dat de wish to die for de emperor is genuine, coming from my heart. However, it is decided for me dat I die for de emperor.

I am pweased to have de honour of having been chosen as a member of a Speciaw Attack Force dat is on its way into battwe, but I cannot hewp crying when I dink of you, Mum. When I refwect on de hopes you had for my future ... I feew so sad dat I am going to die widout doing anyding to bring you joy.

— Ichizo Hayashi, wast wetter home a few days before his finaw fwight. Apriw 1945[66]

There was a hypnotic fascination to de sight so awien to our Western phiwosophy. We watched each pwunging kamikaze wif de detached horror of one witnessing a terribwe spectacwe rader dan as de intended victim. We forgot sewf for de moment as we groped hopewesswy for de dought of dat oder man up dere.